Silver Linings Playbook

One thing that I thought was interesting in Silver Linings Playbook were the characters. None of them, not even the supporting cast, were two dimensional. I especially liked how each of them had their own issues, even if they showed it less than Pat and Tiffany. Ronnie whispered to Pat about how empty he felt, even though he seemed to have his life together. Pat's father also has a gambling habit, and evidence of previous violence. This really made them feel more real. Other movies would just have supporting characters have one  defining characteristic that they keep throughout the movie, but that would not make them memorable or interesting.

What other factors contribute to the realism of the supporting characters?

Silver Linings Playbook

When it all comes down to it, Silver Linings Playbook is nothing more than a love story. The general movement of the story, the major plot points, is nothing that hasn't been done a thousand times before. However, it is the story's clever intricacies and its unique characterizations that hide this fact, and make us feel as though we've never seen anything like it before (this is a good thing by the way). 

In essence, Silver Linings Playbook is a love triangle, between Pat, Tiffany, and Nikki. However, we don't see it this way because in truth, Nikki is not a part of this triangle and never was. Pat however, thinks she is for most of the story, which is what moves the plot along.  The main reason this twist on the love triangle works is the humor created from Pat's insistence that he and Nikki are still together. We laugh at him, but also feel sorry for him, because in truth, Nikki did a horrible thing to him. Therefore, we are able to root for him and Tiffany getting together. We see that over the course of the story, a lesson that applies to everyone: helping other people helps you as well. Namely, Pat helping Tiffany with her dance competition helps him get over the large obstacle in his life that is Nikki.

Silver Lining's Playbook

Something I was struck by when watching Silver Lining's playbook was the quality of the characters, even the minor supporting ones. In many films, characters can simple, one dimensional, and the audience knows how they'd react,. In Silver Lining's, every character was a person, a real person who was just on the other side of a screen, and they all served a purpose. We were surprised to hear Pat's father yelling at him over the Eagle's game when just the day before he tearfully said that he wanted more time with his son. This showed that Pat's father too had problems of his own, and put a "silver lining" on his often poor decisions.
Even Ronnie, who wasn't in the movie that much, was a quality character. The only seemingly normal person in the movie, with a marriage and a family, he was also revealed to have his own issues. Still, Ronnie was able to make the rest of the characters relate-able. Instead of the cast looking like a bunch of nuts, some with anxieties, others with a gambling problem, Ronnie bridged the gap between audience members that wouldn't relate to the other characters, and in a film that focused on mental illness, that was really cool to see.
Do any other characters have some significant worth that wasn't initially obvious?

Silver Linings Playbook

Movie Style

What I found most interesting about Silver Linings Playbook is the style in which it was created. The way that this movie was filmed was in a style that I could not see in any of the other movies that we watched in this semester. 

When watching this movie, I realized that it had a very casual and easy feel to it. When investigating the reason behind this, I concluded that it could not have been through the plot, since the plot discusses heavy subjects - mental illness, cheating, and death. However, after thinking and analyzing, I reached the conclusion that there were two main factors that played to the easiness of the film: the camera technique used and the light humor sometimes used in the film.

If one pays close attention, they will notice that the camera is never set on a fixated axes. In the majority of the movie, the camera is handheld. This can be concluded because the camera deliberately shakes and moves in a very fluid, natural motion. Because the camera is handheld, the audience feels as if it were watching a home movie, which adds to the casualness of the film. Because the film does not look like it is filmed professionally, the audience feels less of the screen between them and the characters and actually feels like it is watching their lives happen before them. In the clip below, if you pay close attention, you can see how casually the scene is filmed. There is no excessive studio lighting or abrupt camera movement. The camera is handheld, the lighting is very natural, and how regular the conversation is adds to the casual feel of the film.

Silver Linings Playbook

The finished dance at the end of Silver Linings was one of the most interesting and symbolic moments in the entire film. While it wasn't exactly the winning dance of the night, it was the perfect moment for the characters. The music, slow classical sounds mixed with a quick cut to a fast paced song from The White Stripes, is especially symbolic of Pat and Tiffany's personalities. They switch from high to low with no introduction or warning, leaving half the people watching completely and utterly confused. The other half rides the roller coaster with them, elated during their fast paced song and emotional during the slow. Even their score, a measly 5 out of 10, shows something. It's not a great score, not even a very good one, but Pat and Tiffany got exactly what they needed. They won the parlay, and the entire dance process is ultimately what won them each other. What other moments in the film foreshadowed or symbolized Pat and Tiffany?